Australia’s flagship airline Qantas suffered a billion dollar-plus loss in profits in the first half of its trading year, dogged by both domestic and international travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. The airline endured an underlying loss before tax of $1.03 billion and a $6.9 billion drop in revenue, noting the half-year results covered Victoria’s extended COVID-19 lockdown and nationwide border closures. Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the results are “stark but not surprising.” “During the half we saw the second wave in Victoria and the strictest domestic travel restrictions since the pandemic began,” Joyce said, releasing the results on Thursday. “Virtually all of our international flying and 70 percent of domestic flying stopped, and with it went three-quarters of our revenue.” The group’s statutory loss before tax was $1.47 billion, which included further redundancy and restructuring costs of $284 million, coming on top of the $642 million …